Database Users

Please help me: Corrupt TMO Tab

Hello,
Please Help!! My stock (firmware but rooted) TMO Tab started locking up and then progressed into constant reboots, lockups and semi hard resets (I lose all screens and they are back to stock, email accounts are gone in stock client, but apps are still there and a lot of other information is still there like wifi, bluetooth setting/devices etc.) Also, sometimes, the device hangs on the Samsung logo on boot up and I have to power down holding the button for 10 seconds and then turn back on..
It is almost like I got a virus. I did a hard reset the other night, went to bed with about 80% battery and it was completely dead in the morning. Last night went to bed with 91% and it was dead in the AM. Something is wrong and draining my battery.
Tmo is not standing behind their product because I bought it without a contract and said Samsung would either refund me or send me a new one(which I knew it couldn't be right), and it wasn't. They said send it in for 10-14 days and they will send me a working model.
So given all the problems I am having which seem to be software related, which software should I install? Something I won't have problems with or will still allow me to accept future Tmo updates if needed or wanted.
Also I am upset over the email limit(one month unlike the VZ version etc) on the stock email client so a Euro version would be fine if it had that feature and I also am not using the Tmo network so a disabled 3G network for data is not a problem.
Thanks for your help and suggestions.
Best,
BC

Please help me...
Update: My Tab was stuck on the Samsung logo for the longest time this morning(like 3 hours). I did the volume up/power button and wiped but still was stuck. It finally booted up but I am sure it is going to lock up and I will have to go through the same thing hoping to get it to boot up.
What could've caused it? What should I do while i have it on? Should I update to the Euro software and if so, which one? There are so many choices and not sure which one to do. Also, would I be able to go back to the stock tmobile s/w if I can return it for a replacement?
One thing that i noticed in the apps is a folder called error 1.0.0 but I cannot uninstall it. Is this normal and does anyone else have it? The other thing is that I still have the same memory available as when I had all my apps, email etc in it. Like it didn't really erase everything.
Please help and point me in the right direction. I have been scouring the net for 4 hours now and I don't know which way to go.
Thank you,
BC

Perhaps you poked around in the files system and accidently removed something? I would go to the Roto Stock firmware package thread, and flash that to repair a corrupt file system. Only a guess on my part, but it won't do any harm.

Well I suppose but I don't recall messing around with anything. I was hoping that while I had to change or repair my software, I should put the best on that there is to offer.
What software do you use or recommend?
Thanks for the reply! This is driving me crazy! I have had to turn off and back on at least 15 times today trying to get it to work amd habe wiped like 5 times.
Do you think I should just try and get a replacement from tmobile?
Thanks,
Brian

Woah, slow down partner. Make a Titanium Backup to the external sd card then remove it. Flash Rotohammers stock T Mobile firmware. Reroot with SuperOneCLick. Reinsert the external SD and reinstate your apps with Titanium. If things are still wonky after that then it's probably a hardware problem.
EDIT: I'd flash using Odin 1.7. It's just easier than Heimdall to me. Personal preference I suppose.

halftonehero said:
Woah, slow down partner. Make a Titanium Backup to the external sd card then remove it. Flash Rotohammers stock T Mobile firmware. Reroot with SuperOneCLick. Reinsert the external SD and reinstate your apps with Titanium. If things are still wonky after that then it's probably a hardware problem.
EDIT: I'd flash using Odin 1.7. It's just easier than Heimdall to me. Personal preference I suppose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did the backup and reinstalled after one of the wipes but it keeps locking up and not booting up. I haven't had it on 1 time successfully yet today and it past 10PM...
The main reason I would like a different firmware is because I want the full functionality of the email client like in some of the other tabs and android devices.
Tmobile and i don't know who else (I read ATT) crippled the email and it doesn't have the option to have all email on the device which is great for short trips without the laptop.
What about some of Roto's other firmwares? Like i said previously, I am not using Tmobiles data or service so it doesn't matter. I also read that the browser and overall was really smooth.
Is it ok to root with z4root? I have the app on my sd card and that is how i've done it before.
Thanks for your suggestions and i appreciate all feedback. I have to do something because this device has become a paperweight.
Thank you,
BC

bconfer said:
I did the backup and reinstalled after one of the wipes but it keeps locking up and not booting up. I haven't had it on 1 time successfully yet today and it past 10PM...
The main reason I would like a different firmware is because I want the full functionality of the email client like in some of the other tabs and android devices.
Tmobile and i don't know who else (I read ATT) crippled the email and it doesn't have the option to have all email on the device which is great for short trips without the laptop.
What about some of Roto's other firmwares? Like i said previously, I am not using Tmobiles data or service so it doesn't matter. I also read that the browser and overall was really smooth.
Is it ok to root with z4root? I have the app on my sd card and that is how i've done it before.
Thanks for your suggestions and i appreciate all feedback. I have to do something because this device has become a paperweight.
Thank you,
BC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey dude you sound nervous as hell man, relax. as long as you can get your phone in to download mode. you will be ok. flash rotos tmobile stock firmware. if it works hooray! if not flash rotos jme 4

Still out of commission
I am not nervous, just annoyed as hell.
I flashed the stock tmobile firmware, booted it up and it crashed after about 10 minutes and I am back stuck on the samsung logo. I haven't been able to get it to boot up for about 5-6 days. I have wiped many times and no dice.
Should I wipe cache partition? Try the JME software?
Thanks for your help!
BC

[Q] Rooted Evo - not getting text messages - trying to unroot or fix

To start off, I apologize for the lengthy post, but I figure if you have all the info, you could help me begin to troubleshoot. If there is a forum and I've missed it, please let me know where it is.
I have rooted using Unrevoked 3 and flashed CyanogenMod 7 a little while ago. Over the weekend, I was low on space and battery life, trying to use my Evo as a hotspot and taking pictures, etc. Well, it froze and I pulled the battery. When I went to reboot, it only showed the CyanogenMod splash screen. I didn't have internet access at the time, but really needed my phone. I had a PC36IMG.zip on my sdcard and flashed that. I was able to get back up and running, but I lost the ability to receive text messages. I could send texts and IMs, call, use data, etc. but not receive texts.
When I got internet access, I saw that I could download a Sense ROM, flash it up, update the PRL and should be okay. I flashed Fresh Sense ROM, updated, used the MSL code reader and did the ##????# thing, reset it, but still nothing.
Today, I tried re-flashing CyangogenMod and then lost the Market, Dialer and Contacts along with the ability to edit the CyanogenMod settings along with a bunch of other little things that I haven't fully explored.
I've tried unrooting it using the unrevoked forever s-on.zip, but it stuck and the system info message (and I downloaded it 3 times). I tried just flashing the PC36IMG.zip from xda and it wouldn't flash, either.
I'm at my wits end and need some direction because I know I've missed steps and made missteps. I have to have my phone for work and if I need to take it back to Sprint that's fine, I just need to unroot it! Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

Are you flashing the new ROM's right over the top?
I've never had the problems you've mentioned but anytime i've read the forums and seen others with these problems i've often seen people recommend doing a factory/data wipe from recovery. Have you tried that before flashing the new ROM.
What I would do...
1. DL CM7/Google apps and save it to the SD Card.
2. Boot to recovery
3. Factory/Data wipe
4. Flash CM7
5. flash Google Apps
6. Boot to CM7
Give it a go.
Hope this may have helped.

Droid X Willn't Activate.

So.... I was stuck at the M logo after trying to update to a newer version of MIUI. I successfully SBF'd back to stock froyo and my phone won't activate. When the activation call tells me to press "1", it simply goes silent.

Now I somehow bypassed the activation screen, I don't think that was a good idea because it forced me to connect via wifi. I just said "screw it anyway" and went ahain to reroot. Then I installed CM7 (since I current don't have the MIUI zip I was previously running on my phone). Now I am stuck at the CM7 logo. Not sure if I should SBF again or what I should do. I'm kinda freaked.

Also, I have never had a problem SBFing before. This seems more serious than before.

Update: Wiping data allowed me to boot up in CM7. Still cannot activate my phone. Whenever it prompts me to press "1", all I get is complete silence.
I'm currently at UT Dallas, so I don't think location is a problem is it? Actually it shouldn't be because I bricked my phone here before. Had to reactivate it and it worked great.
Man, this is the first time my phone won't activate.

Yes I know I am posting a lot, but since no one is here to help currently I'm trying things out on my own.
I tried restoring a nandroid I had of CM7 previously. Man I thought this was always a failsafe....
Just thinking of things I did since the last time I activated my phone. I updated something (radio version, I don't really know much about it), it was supposed to make my 3G faster or whatever. But I mean I've SBF'd, factory reset and everything, so that shouldn't be an issue?
Gosh dang, I just want my phone back the way it was 2 hours ago.

One of the reasons nandroid might not be working is that I might have a different version of clockwork on my phone. I remember before having a version where the test was blue, but I forgot the version number. Now the one I get with rom manager is green (like the one I had before I got the blue one).
Man I am sooo confused here. I am completely at a loss. I am out of ideas. I need help.

So I realized I did not have the second init version of clockwork. I just flashed that, and I'm waiting to see if I will get any errors. If I get this to work I am going to flash the version of MIUI I had and try to restore my more recent nandroid (since Ive gotten MIUI).

Yup problem solved. Not sure what was causing the problem, but at least its solved. I'm gonna be extra careful next time I flash something.

Need help flashing back to stock

Guys,
I've spent the last week trying desperately to get my stock ROM reinstalled as I'm one of the unfortunate users where GPS will ONLY work with the stock ROM. As a friend is going to loan me Google Glass I need to get GPS working ASAP!
I've tried the standard method of downloading the KDZ file and the flash tools, which has worked at least twice for me, but now nothing. I've tried on 4 machines, ranging from Windows 8.1 to 7 - same behavior everywhere - the software never sees the phone.
If I look at device manager I see the phone as a comm port. I've tried leaving it's default (sometimes 4, sometimes 5) and I've changed it to 41. When I run the tool it starts the process, the computer goes through the dances but nothing on the phone. Once a few weeks ago this happened and I resolved it by formatting something on the device but I can't figure out what.
I've tried wiping everything on the device save for recovery - the saviour here is I have a bunch of ROMs on the SD card and I can get in Clockwork after everytime this fails. But NO custom ROM works with GPS, none. The last time I was able to unroot and flash back to stock GPS worked perfectly.
Any advice anyone? I'm totally at my wits end with this phone, adding insult to injury and I paid full retail price of $600 for this thing and I can barely use it right now!!!
-Ross

[Q] Encryption removal problem - CM to TriForce

I have been running CM (currently CM11) on my SGS4 since I bought it from Sprint in summer 2013. However, Sprint changed their international partners pretty seriously in the past 2 years, so I *really* need a PRL update for international travel. Normally the easiest way to do this is to reboot to stock or TriForce, run the "update PRL" and "update Profile" options from in TriForce, and go on with my life.
But I encrypt my phone. So I had to boot into TWRP, wipe and format *everything* and make sure the phone came up unencrypted in CM. All is OK.
So I reboot, flash TriForce 5.4 custom with stock (not KK) kernel. Flash works fine, I reboot... and am prompted to decrypt the device before I can do anything. None of the decryption passwords I've used in the past (I checked my password safe) are working. When I flash back to CM, it boots fine, and the settings says that the device is not encrypted.
I downloaded and tried TriForce 5.2 and 4.0, both are giving the same problem. I have used TriForce in the past on this phone, so it SHOULD be fine....?
Someone in #twrp said that the location of the encryption key changed from Android 4.4 to 5.0. So my only remaining thought now is that there was also a change from 4.3 to 4.4, and the encryption key for 4.3 didn't get removed in the wipe, and since the partition is NOT encrypted, the decryption, even if I have the right key, fails, so I can't get into the phone. Hope that makes sense.
Anyone have any guess better, or, if I'm right, know what I need to move/edit to fix this?

Followup: IRC #sgs4 suggested a full install of stock via odin, so I'll be trying that on Saturday, after I can get a new stock rom downloaded overnight. if there are thoughts before then, I'd love 'em.

docsmooth said:
Followup: IRC #sgs4 suggested a full install of stock via odin, so I'll be trying that on Saturday, after I can get a new stock rom downloaded overnight. if there are thoughts before then, I'd love 'em.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Followup - this was never solved before I dropped the phone and shattered the screen (literally days after this post). So if someone runs into the same thing... good luck.

docsmooth said:
Followup - this was never solved before I dropped the phone and shattered the screen (literally days after this post). So if someone runs into the same thing... good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the update, I was actually going to suggest stock ODIN instead of TriForce, but you are saying it did not work ? It's good to know for the future. I was initially going to encrypt my phone a long time ago, but I had concerns about decryption when switching ROMs.
My question is why the encryption was not removed after the format ? I've used TWRP to pretty much hose out everything inside the phone, so it's possible the encryption location is located somewhere else. I came across this article:
http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/21/technology/resell-android-phone/
So I guess even after a complete wipe everything ISN'T removed. Maybe your encryption was also stuck as well.................................... What new phone are you getting ?...................................

mikeprius said:
Thanks for the update, I was actually going to suggest stock ODIN instead of TriForce, but you are saying it did not work ? It's good to know for the future. I was initially going to encrypt my phone a long time ago, but I had concerns about decryption when switching ROMs.
My question is why the encryption was not removed after the format ? I've used TWRP to pretty much hose out everything inside the phone, so it's possible the encryption location is located somewhere else. I came across this article:
So I guess even after a complete wipe everything ISN'T removed. Maybe your encryption was also stuck as well.................................... What new phone are you getting ?...................................
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was never able to get the stock odin download. The whole problem came up because I was going overseas... I got around it by just buying a local SIM rather than using the Sprint roaming (again, I was doing all this just to update the PRL. new GSM SIM = no PRL update needed). On the way home less than a week later, I cracked the screen so bad the LCD and backlight wouldn't even go on.
I replaced it with a Nexus 6. A bit big, but it doesn't suffer Samsung software awfulness, so I didn't have to flash it with CM to make it usable.